Guard duty
by LupinsGirlSA
Summary: Tonks gets a visitor while on guard duty. A few little behind the scenes snippets. Rating for language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All credit goes to JK Rowling. If you you see something you remember from the books or films, it does not belong to me. You can't sue me, I don't have any money.

Authors note: This is my first real fic, please be nice. It's just a little something that I needed to wright. Not cannon. Takes place during book 6, before Harry is moved to the Burrow. Ignores large parts of book six. Slightly random. I have now revised this story and fixed any mistakes that I noticed after publishing. If you find any that I may have missed, please let me know. Also a huge thanks those of you who have already posted reviews, it means a lot to me to see that people enjoy my work.

Tonks pulled her jumper a little tighter around her shoulders. It was cold for this time of the year and sitting in the slightly damp space she had chosen for herself didn't help matters much, but at least she could clearly see the road and the front door to the house.

Guarding the boy had been one of the many new tasks she had added to her to do list shortly after joining the order just over a year ago. She didn't mind doing it, somebody had to, but sitting in the hedge of privet drive number 4 all on her own for 8 hours wasn't her idea of a fun night.

Midnight. Mrs. Figg had walked past her on the way from the shops shortly after her shift had started. Harry had returned from his walk and snuck in through the back door. The boy with the mutt on a leash had walked to the park and back. Vernon Dursley had come home from work. Duddley Dursley had gone of with two of his thick looking friends and had not returned home yet. Vernon and Petunia had gone to bed over an hour ago. Nothing interesting to report.

The sudden blueish light from somewhere to her left and underneath her borrowed invisibility cloak made her start and grab her wand before she figured out the the source was a small magpie that looked up at her expectantly from its perch on her knee.

"Don't curse me, I'm joining you in a minute."

She couldn't help but smile, nobody pitched up for guard duty 4 hours early. She felt rather than heard the older man settle down next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke in a slightly horse whisper.

"It's freezing out here"

"I know"

She felt the feverish heat pouring from his body as he pulled a battered old thermos flask from somewhere under his cloak and she tried to count the days to the next full moon. He spoke again and effectively cut of her train of thought.

"Anything to report?"

"You mean besides the fact that you should be in bed? Remus, you need to sleep."

"So do you, but I appreciate the gesture. Anyway, I tried, but I couldn't."

He carefully handed her a cup of tea, along with what looked like a chocolate chip biscuit.

"Molly?"

"She seems to think I need fattening up. I don't have the hart to tell her I can't stand the idea of food this close to the full moon."

"She has a point, you know, but I won't push it."

He didn't say anything, so she continued.

"Do you think they suspect something?"

"I'm not sure. I think Molly does, and perhaps Dumbledore and Mad Eye, but nobody else."

"I've been asked to join the group in Hogsmead at the beginning of the school year."

"I've heard."

"Are you stil going of with the wolf pack?"

"Dumbledore wants me to, and I know somebody needs to try to win them over, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Not with Greyback as alpha male, anyway, but I don't think I have a choice. If I go, I'll try to stay in touch."

"Just stay safe, ok. I'll rather life with the idea that no news is good news. Just stay safe."

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder and felt him wrap one arm protectively around her as he took the empty cup from her hand and pressed a small kiss on her cheek.

"I will."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All credit goes to JK Rowling. If you you see something you remember from the books or films, it does not belong to me. You can't sue me, I don't have any money.

Authors note: For a long time I couldn't decide if I wanted to continue with this fic, but the inspiration hit and I finally know where I want it to go. A huge thank you to everybody who left reviews and to those of you who are following this story. At first I wanted to stick with just Remus and Tonks, but it didn't feel right, so a few other characters wil now also be getting involved. As always, if you find any mistakes, please point them out to me and I will fix them.

Tonks never minded working nights, but Hogsmead rolled up its sidewalks at around 8. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, the assignment only stated that they need to be in the village, not actively on patrol, but she had nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Living in London had its drawbacks, but she loved the nightlife. The buzzing nightclubs, the theatres near her apartment, even just window shopping, she was crazy for it. In Hogsmead, she had two options: the Three Broomsticks or the Hogs Head.

She quickly dismissed the Hogs Head, spending the night in the less than pleasant company of Aberforth Dumbledore and his dodgy punters wasn't her idea of a good time.

This left the Three Broomsticks, with its collection of village drunks, the heat from the fireplace, butterbeer on tap and the lovely company of madam Rosmerta. Sadly, all the other aurors in their unit would probably be there as well.

A sudden movement about a two hundred yards up ahead drew her attention. She immediately had her wand clenched in her hand and a good stance on the frozen ground, ready for any attack that may come. It was most likely just a drunk or a shopkeeper making his way home, but she wasn't going to risk it. Constant Vigilance. It had been drilled into her from her first day of training, and it had become something as natural as breathing. Even with the fog, the figure looked very familiar...

"Identify yourself!"

The figure came to a dead stop and appeared to be looking at her.

"Alastor Moody, ex auror, known member of the Order of the Phoenix, commonly known as Mad Eye. No wife or children. My girl, there isn't much else I can tell you, that Crouch bastard got far too much information out of me."

She couldn't help but smile at her old mentor. She didn't need much more from him, she had spent enough time with the crazy old man to know it really was him. She quickly performed the second half of this little ritual by turning her hair from brown to pink, then black, a startling shade of florescent green and then back to brown. The old auror had seen enough and walked closer to her.

"You shouldn't be so trusting, girl. Wand at the ready and stay out of the light. Think as a dark wizard thinks."

She didn't bother telling him that they were on the outskirts of the village, where there were no streetlamps and the only light came from the moon, but simply fell into step next to him.

"How was your patrol? Anything to report?"

"Nothing, most of the people are asleep by now. The only places still doing business this late are the pubs."

"Who else is on duty tonight?"

"Proudfoot and Smith. I'm not sure if Proudfoot can be trusted, but Smith is a by the book sort of man."

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, making their way back into the village proper using the side streets. Tonks hoped they would turn down the main road, but Mad Eye just crossed it without bothering to look for traffic and kept on walking. The Hogs Head it is.

There were only two other punters and she wondered vaguely who or what they may be, if they had criminal records and what a quick search of their robes would give up. Old Aberforth never really discriminated against paying customers and it took a lot for him to kick somebody out. She noticed that Moody had quietly placed a silencing spell around their little corner of the pub.

The barman put a bottle of butterbeer down in front of her without bothering to ask if Mad Eye wanted something, his paranoid little habits were well known.

"So, what's new with the order?"

"It's beginning to feel more and more like it did last time. Nobody knows who to trust, I barely know where half the order is, people keep disappearing, muggles and wizards, his recruiting in every underground hell hole you can possibly think of. You and I both know they're already inside the ministry. Never mind all the little death eater brats at Hogwarts."

"It's happening faster than I thought it would. We studied the first war in training, looking at how it unfolded, but it seems so different now."

"Your forgetting how much time Voldemort had to plan this one. He had a full year to quietly recruit followers, a full year with the ministry playing stupid and the Prophet spreading propaganda against Potter and Dumbledore. The death eaters are everywhere, the ministry, St. Mungo's, everywhere. They have positions of power and they have gold. We are a small group of misfits trying to fight an overwhelming army."

"You're making it sound like we don't even have a chance."

"Don't give up yet, my girl, we still have hope. Anyway, the real reason I'm here tonight. I thought you'd like to know we've heard from Lupin."

Her head shot up and their eyes met. All four of them. The gruff old auror was grinning, he had her and he knew it.

"How did you find out?"

"Call it a gut feeling, but you just proved me right."

She didn't know what to say. They had done everything they could to keep the relationship secret, being found out could have serious consequences.

"Who else knows?"

"As far as I know, nobody. Kid, for what it's worth, I'm happy for you. He's a good man, regardless of what he thinks of himself, and you're not stupid, you know when to stand and fight and when to run. His older than you, but that could be good for the both of you. I'm not sure how your mum and dad will feel about all of this, but as long as you're both happy, don't let it bother you too much."

She felt like crying. The relief of knowing that somebody else knew and understood was overwhelming.

The old man covered her hands in his own and gave a gentle squeeze. The hands were hard, callused and scarred. Hands that had fought and killed to protect others.

"Now, I'm off to bed and you need to get back to work. Remember, constant vigilance. Keep your eyes and ears open. If you're ever in trouble, come to me, I'll help you."

He got up slowly, stiff from sitting down so long, handed a couple of coins to Aberforth and left the pub.

She drank the last few sips of her butterbeer in one swallow, waved a goodbye to barman and walked out into the chilly fog to do another patrol of the small village, this time with a smile on her face.

Authors note, part two: I'm sorry if Moody seems a bit out of character, I wanted to put a bit more emphasis on the father/daughter relationship between him and Tonks. There's more on the way, I promise, I just don't know when, but please stick with me, as soon as my exams are over things should go much better.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All credit goes to JK Rowling. If you see something you remember from the books or films, it does not belong to me. You can't sue me, I don't have any money.

Authors note: My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates, my muse has abandoned me. Takes place shortly before Christmas in book 6. As always, if you find any mistakes please let me know, I'm happy to fix them.

Tonks was more than a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a meeting in a cemetery in the middle of the night with no moonlight to speak of, but this was Scrimgeour's bright idea and she wasn't brave enough to tell him just how stupid it sounded.

The weekly report meeting was something they were still forced to go through, regardless of the fact that nothing has actually happened in Hogsmeade in the months they've been there.

At least the meetings never lasted very long. They all went more or less the same way: roll call, regardless of the fact that there werw only four of them, a general q and a session, the handing over of new reports and lastly the handing out of mail.

She watched Scrimgeour read the notes from last week's meeting without really paying attention, there wasn't anything interesting anyway. Somehow the old lion never really earned her respect the way Mad Eye had. It was something in the way he treated the people around him, like those who didn't have his money, his rank, his power and influence were somehow less human as well. Then there was the fact that he was doing everything in his power to brown nose the public rather than doing his job. Voldemort couldn't really take over with him in power, bit she wasn't really sure how long he would last. He was a good auror, but not much of a minister.

"Anything to report?"

No, this place is as boring as sin.

"Any suspicious activity?"

You mean apart from the four aurors and the minister gathered around the grave of... Wilhelmina Elizabeth Grayson, loving mother and wife, taken too soon, 1643-1689? No, not really.

"Anything bothering you, any gut feelings?"

Yeah, it's freezing, we're standing in a cemetery, I'm patrolling Hogsmeade instead of doing real work, Proudfoot is working on her nerves, Savage is pulling half shifts, Smith may be a touch ocd, Mundungus Fletcher is stealing from the boy who lived, she hasn't even seen the inside of her cubicle in almost three months, she can't really do anything for the order, Dumbledore is up to something and her boyfriend is running around with criminal and lowlifes who would like nothing more than to see him dead.

"Alright, thank you, we'll meet up again next week. Are these all the new reports?"

Yes sir, feel free to go dump them with the rest of the useless paperwork we get to fill in.

Scrimgeour put a box full of letters, notes and reports on the low stone wall that surrounded the graveyard and disapparated without bothering to say goodbye.

They quickly sifted through the mess, each auror moving of to find a quiet spot to read their little bundles. Tonks chose the half frozen park bench in the northern corner of what she assumed must have once been a lovely playground that had fallen into disrepair over the years. She didn't choose it for comfort but because it gave her a pretty good view of the main street, the train station and the road leading up to Hogwarts. She suspected the other aurors would be too busy with their own things, somebody needed to keep an eye out, regardless of the fact that nothing ever happened in Hogsmeade at this hour.

She started by separating everything into four neat piles. Notes, memos, reports and letters. The notes, memos and reports were all regarding work and she put them aside. There were three letters and she started with the one written on the lined pages if a muggle exam pad. It was from her father, inviting her to Christmas dinner, asking her how she was, how work was, when last she heard from her niece and when she was coming back to london. She didn't have the answers to any of his questions, but she would write back later.

The second was from Kingsley, a sort of general update of what was going on with the order and at the ministry. It wasn't good. The death eaters were so deep inside the ministry that they were in prime positions to take over the moment they saw a gap. Mad Eye was right, they were trying to fight an overwhelming army...

The last was from Molly Weasley. She wanted to know if everything was alright, why she'd been so quiet... Another invitation to Christmas dinner... The way she felt now she would be working Christmas.

There was another letter, one she'd taken to carrying around with her. Mad Eye slipped it to her a few days ago while they were at Hogwarts. It was a piece of paper torn from a muggle newspaper and folded in half, with a simple message written in pencil on the inside.

"Dora, I need to see you, please meet me at the Hogs Head on boxing day, 10pm. If you can't make it, please let me know through Moody, I trust him. Love, Remus."

She'd nodded at Mad Eye, he nodded back and that was it, the meeting was set.

She smiled at herself, she was counting the days like a child counts the days to a birthday party, but it made the endless patrols and the overwhelming feeling of uselessness a bit more bearable.

Authors note, part 2: This is the first half of what I originally planned as one chapter. The second half will be up just after Christmas.

Please let me know what you think, your opinion really does matter to me.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All credit goes to JK Rowling. If you see something you remember from the books or films, it does not belong to me. You can't sue me, I don't have any money.

Authors note: Yes, I know Christmas has been and gone and we're well into 2015, but being on holiday has made me very lazy. Please let me know If you find any mistakes. This chapter follows closely on chapter 3.

It was so dark outside that Tonks could barely make out her surroundings, but she knew the path she was on now would eventually split into two: if she turned right the path would go further north for about a mile and a half, gradually getting steeper and leading into the mountains to Hogwarts. If she turned left it only went on another five hundred feet or so, leading to Hogsmeade station.

That was her final destination for the night, in just half an hour Remus would meet her there. Her original plan had been to simply sneak away without telling Smith and Proudfoot, but to her amazement she found Mad Eye waiting for her in the alleyway between Honeydukes and the Post office where she usually started her patrol. The old auror didn't say much apart from his usual identification routine, he simply gave her what passed for a grin and informed her that he would meet her under the trees in front of the Shrieking Shack at midnight. She felt sorry for the people of Hogsmeade tonight.

She smiled at herself, she found the idea of Moody as co conspirator very odd, but she'd grown used to his little quirks over the years and if he wanted to help she wasn't going to argue with him.

She turned left and the small station building came into view almost immediately.

She could see the flickering of what must have been a gas lamp from somewhere inside the little station house and something stirred inside her. What if this was some kind of a trap, some elaborate test? Surely Mad Eye wouldn't have let her come if there was any real danger? She remembered her training, all the little tricks and pranks the crazy old man had set up to test her and she pulled out her wand. Rather safe than sorry...

She moved a little closer to the building and then carefully skirted along the wall, slipping around the back and around the far side, the long way around. The door was slightly ajar and she toed it open a bit more. There was no movement from inside, not a sound, and she decided to go for it, slipping inside with her wand at the ready.

Remus stood in the middle of the room with his wand pointed directly at her. For a moment they just stood there, neither saying a word, until Tonks couldn't take it anymore. She squinted slightly and changed her hair from brown to a bright, festive red and then back again. Remus gave a sigh of relief and waved his wand in a long swooping motion, and a little silvery blue magpie seemed to materialise out of thin air and fluttered down onto the edge of the table.

Remus didn't waste another moment, pulling her into a tight hug. She took a deep breath and inhaled the smell that was uniquely Remus: cedarwood, oranges, old books and some cheap brand of muggle shampoo.

"I was worried you wouldn't come..."

"Me? Never, I've missed you too much."

He didn't seem to want to let her go, and she wasn't going to argue.

"How much time do we have?"

"A little over an hour, Mad Eye took over my patrol, he's meeting me outside the Shrieking Shack at midnight..."

"That's something, at least. How have you been? Where were you yesterday? I was hoping you would show up at the Burrow."

"I didn't really feel like company... I took over a few shifts for the others. Remus, you've lost weight."

It was true, she could feel bones under her hands. She pulled back a little and studied his face. He didn't look ill, but there was something that worried her. She slipping a hand up to stroke his cheek and he pressed a small kiss to the fleshy part of her palm.

"I'm fine, my love, don't worry about me."

"Remus..."

"I know, but there's no use worrying, I've been through worse, I'll be fine."

He let her go and let her over to one of the wooden benches that stood against the wall. She waited for him to sit down and rested her head against his shoulder, taking one of his hands into both of her own. For a moment they both just sat there, enjoying the closeness. Remus was the first to speak.

"Harry told me something interesting, you know, he says your patronus has changed..."

She hesitated for a moment, she didn't really know how to discuss this with him.

"It has."

"Harry thinks it's a dog. With Sirius... You know."

"It's an easy mistake to make, I suppose, he only saw it for a moment."

Remus didn't say anything, waiting for her to go on.

"It's a wolf."

Remus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He seemed suddenly nervous and she waited for him to say something.

"Why me?"

"Sorry?"

"Why me? Tonks, your young, beautiful, why would you want to be with someone like me?"

"Remus, you know what I am, what I can do. I'm any mans dream girl, in the blink of an eye I can become anything they want, anything they ask for. Hell, I can turn myself into Fleur Delacour in a heartbeat. You know what I am, but you've never asked for anything. You've accepted me the way I am, no matter what I do with my hair or my nose or whatever, you've never asked me to change who I am."

"Tonks, you can do so much better than me. You should have someone young, someone healthy and wealthy, someone who can grow old with you."

"You know, I've been with that sort of man, many of them, actually. They all want the same thing: a pretty young trophy wife with big breasts and blond hair who will up their social status and hang on their every word. I'm tired, Remus, I'm done being the model girlfriend. I know you're not perfect, but neither am I. I want a man with integrity, a man who can deal with my work and my silly little habits and my messy apartment and still love me despite It all. A man with a heart and something between his ears. Remus, I don't care about money, I have more than enough of my own. I know you're not a young man anymore, but that doesn't matter, I can still enjoy a good life with you. As for being a werewolf, Remus, you didn't ask for this. You're not the monster you think you are. There are ways to manage it and keep us both safe. Remus, please, I don't want some young hotshot, I want you. It's you I love, and nothing will ever change that."

Remus was quiet again and she looked up at him. His eyes were swimming with tears.

"Remus, I love you, please don't ever doubt that."

He took a few shuddering breaths but he still wouldn't say anything to her and he didn't meet her eyes.

"No matter what happens, I'll always love you. We're in this for the long run, you and I."

He pulled her in closer and held her tightly. His breathing was shallow and he pressed a kiss against her temple.

"I love you."

Authors note, part 2: I'm not sure when I'll be going on with this fic, but for now I'm still calling it a WIP. Please review, I love to know what you think.


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